by Shelby Hild
“As close as I could be,” he said as he rested one of his hands on the arm Vivilyn had under his elbow. “She was queen and I was a child when she died. But she taught me to ride and she taught me to read. No one else could even attempt to teach me those.” He smiled and looked at Vivilyn. “Once, Uncle Bryton tried to help me read one of Vreso’s philosophies because I’d heard it was Father’s favorite. When Grandmother found out, she stormed in, sent Uncle away, carried me to her favorite garden and sat down with me right then and there to help me with it.” Half his mouth raised in a crooked smile.
“Papa teaches most of the children in town to read,” Vivilyn said. “Right under the peach trees in the middle of spring. Says it gives them an extra appreciation for words when they aren’t cooped up inside.”
“Grandmother thought similarly. She even had a council session outside once. Councilmen complained about it for weeks. When they were being unreasonable and holding up a bill or something that would help the people because they couldn’t agree on something, she would threaten to have another outside meeting.”
“I can’t imagine being threatened to go outside. I’d take that chance every moment I could.”
They watched the wind blow in the garden for a few minutes, talking quietly about how much they enjoyed the outdoors. Something caught Vivilyn’s eyes.
“Did you see that?” Vivilyn asked, squinting into the darkness.
“See what?”
“I thought I saw someone moving down there.” Vivilyn’s mind ran back to the vision she had on her way from the carriage to meeting Prince Aiden. She shook her head as her imagination started building smoke in front of her.
“It’s dark down there, probably just the wind moving a branch or plant strangely.” The prince turned Vivilyn away from the garden and back towards the door.
“You’re right,” she said, turning her head to look back for a moment. Her heart kept speeding up though. Something was wrong.
Shareen made her way through the crowd and once it was plain that she’d gotten Prince Aiden’s attention, pointed to her wrist.
“Unfortunately, it seems our time tonight is up,” Aiden said as they walked back inside. “I’ve four more women to speak with before the ceremony, but…” he turned to Vivilyn. She knew what he was going to say, and she acted before she thought too much about what she was about to do.
She pulled him into a hug before he had a chance to bow.
“Until next time,” she said as she laid her head directly beside the jasmine he’d set in his pocket and took a deep breath. He hesitated for a moment before relaxing into the hug. When she pulled away, Vivilyn noticed he was blushing.
“Until next time, Lady Vivilyn.”
He walked away but took two separate looks back as he went to seek the women he’d not spoken to yet.
Maybe I do have a chance, Vivilyn thought, smiling as she walked back to her table.
“One moment, please, Miss,” one of the cameramen said facing the camera to her. One of the workers in black approached Vivilyn and the cameraman.
“Lady Vivilyn,” he said. “You just had your moment with the prince?” He posed it like a question but didn’t leave her time to answer. His dark hair was streaked with white and Vivilyn couldn’t help but notice a slight twitch in his left eye. “I’ve a few questions for you.”
“Okay,” she said. Vivilyn wasn’t sure how to feel about this. It was the first time Malcolm wasn’t nearby while she had an interview.
“How was the meeting?” the man asked, one foot tapping impatiently. His eyes shifted rapidly around the entire room before finally focusing intently on Vivilyn.
“I think it went well. We talked a little bit about family and then we just looked over the garden.” Vivilyn thought for a moment about what to say next. “He’s a very comforting presence. My imagination frightened me for a moment, and he very easily calmed me down.”
The man’s foot stopped tapping. His eye’s twitching speed increased.
“What frightened you?” He asked.
“Oh,” Vivilyn said, waving a hand dismissively. “I thought I saw someone sneaking in the garden.”
The man waved at the cameraman to stop recording.
“Okay, thank you,” he said before running off.
“That was odd,” Vivilyn said. The cameraman nodded and then shrugged.
“Some of these people are jumpy. He probably went to verify no one was in the garden spying or something.”
At the front of the room a little while later, someone began to tap their wine glass with a knife, causing a sharp tink-tink-tink sound to echo through the room.
“Ladies, ladies,” Adontus smiled at each and every woman in the room, which meant he smiled at each and every camera in the room. “I know you all must be tired, but hang in there a little bit longer. I will take your handsome suitor away for the briefest of moments and we shall then begin the ceremony out in the entry hall. You will be lining up on the stairs by dress color.” He clapped excitedly as Prince Aiden exited the crowd and followed Adontus out of the room.
Within a few moments, the room filled even more with people in black outfits. Vivilyn was separated from the girls she knew and stood in between the women dressed in orange and yellow.
Prince Aiden came out of a set of doors on the opposite of the stairs than the large banquet room had been. A loud cheer echoed through the room.
“I want to thank each and every one of you for being here tonight. For many of you, this has been a change from the ordinary. And I thank you for giving me a chance, not only for love but for country. Sadly, I have to say goodbye to fifteen of you tonight.
“It is not a decision I come to lightly. But I feel strongly that this will be a very successful Enchanted Trials.”
Adontus stepped up with a tray full of thin necklaces.
“These represent our growing relationships. Each ceremony a charm will be given to add to this that is representative of the time we’ve all had together. One week from now, my parents, siblings, and Uncle Bryton will form their teams for the remainder of the Trials. They will give the first charms at that ceremony.” He picked up the first necklace. “Once I’ve called your name, please come to gather the necklace.”
He took a deep breath.
“Lady Freya Annette of Adalay,” he called. Freya strode down the steps, heels clicking with each step. Once she reached the prince, she turned around and let him slip the necklace around her neck.
“Lady Irene Merle of Rinson,” a woman in neon pink stepped forward.
Name after name was called. Vivilyn’s pulse beat strongly in her feet as her shoes felt like they were cutting into her circulation. Jolene and Louise were called so close together they grasped hands as they passed each other. Darissa skipped towards Prince Aiden with her usual smile. Brayleigh almost tripped as she squeezed through the women in front of her.
You won’t win. Brayleigh’s voice reentered Vivilyn’s mind as the necklaces dwindled. When three were left, Vivilyn could barely breathe. She was tired. And she was embarrassed. She had been comfortable with Prince Aiden. Goodness, she initiated a hug with him. That wasn't something she was accustomed to doing with friends, much less people who were practically strangers.
She would go home with nothing but a strange new memory.
“Lady Entra Amay of Eto,” Prince Aiden called. A tall girl in pale yellow moved from beside Vivilyn.
“Lady Trina Diane of Dragon’s Mount,” another girl in blue moved.
Vivilyn felt the warmth of a tear slide down her cheek. Quickly she wiped it away, hiding the movement by pushing hair back behind her ear.
Adontus appeared again at Prince Aiden’s side.
“The last woman will be announced in moments, but for those of you not chosen, remember that this isn’t only about you and your worth. It’s about who will be best for the kingdom,” Adontus stepped back into the shadows.
Vivilyn tilted her head slightly as she tried to
process what Adontus had said. Hopefully it was one of those moments that sounded better in his head than spoken out loud. As she was pondering if it really was what he meant, Vivilyn glanced over at those who had been friendly to her.
“Lady Vivilyn Minette of Treelyn,” Prince Aiden said. Vivilyn jumped at her name. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Aiden. Did his smile seem wider as he looked at her than the others? No. That was just her imagination.
Vivilyn slid carefully between the other women on the stairs and tried not to limp at the sharp pain shooting up her legs.
“Vivilyn,” Aiden said as she approached.
Before she had a chance to turn and accept the necklace, a loud explosion shook the room. The prince pushed her to the ground and covered her head with his hands.
Chapter 15
The world went black around Vivilyn. After the initial explosion, her ears rang with a high-pitched buzzing. Smoke filled her nose and lungs, causing her to cough. She blinked several times, hoping to dispel the darkness.
She felt someone grab her arm. She was yanked up. After a few more rapid blinks, color entered Vivilyn’s eyes again.
Chaos surrounded her.
Vivilyn saw people yelling. She saw people running. Smoke billowed in from the giant stone doors.
Vivilyn heard none of it.
She looked to the hand gripping her arm.
Prince Aiden’s mouth moved as though he called out to people. He pointed from one side of the room to the other. The wall started opening and the women were ushered through the new door.
Vivilyn saw it before it happened. Seconds before it happened. She looked up. The part of the ceiling that connected with the doors cracked.
She opened her mouth to say something. She couldn’t tell if she actually made any noise. Her head pounded with each beat of her heart.
As the ceiling crumpled, small pieces began to fall all around the room.
She pushed Prince Aiden directly into a guard who was running towards them just as the door broke off its hinges.
Prince Aiden turned. He reached an arm out to her, his mouth shaped her name as she felt the door hit her.
The force pushed her to the floor again. She didn’t have time to think. The world went dark again as she felt something snap painfully in her back.
It could have been seconds, or it could have been years that Vivilyn floated in a never-ending black sea.
She couldn’t tell if she breathed. She couldn’t tell if her heart beat.
Sound returned first. Initially as a high buzzing, then a low hum. Eventually it turned into Prince Aiden’s voice.
“Everyone is in the Safe Rooms,” he said. His voice sounded so far away. She tried to open her eyes.
Slowly, Vivilyn felt herself lift, like in her visions. She wasn’t sure if she opened her eyes or if the vision was appearing against her eyelids.
“We have to do something,” Prince Aiden said. He paced in a dark room with Prince Ethan, Princess Elissa, an infant, and two older people hidden by shadows that Vivilyn assumed were the king and queen.
“There is nothing to do,” the king said. His head lowered into his hands.
“You know that’s not true.”
“We can’t,” the queen said as she reached a hand to set on the king’s back.
The vision faded and another filled her mind.
Darissa sat in another dark room with a small group of women. Dirt and debris covered her face. Her dress was torn and frayed near the bottom.
“It’s safe,” a guard said at the door holding a hand out to help the women stand.
“I won’t leave her,” Darissa said, looking down at limp form beside her.
“Rissa,” Brayleigh said, kneeling beside Darissa. “There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing any of us can do.” Darissa looked over at Brayleigh then back down at the form and shook her head.
“I won’t leave her.” She smiled down at the form that Vivilyn vaguely recognized as her own body. “If I don’t leave her, she won’t leave us.” Brayleigh nodded and set her hand on Darissa’s shoulder for a few moments. Then she stood up and exited the room.
Vivilyn’s surroundings faded again.
When everything came back into focus, she was in her room.
She opened her eyes and saw Maia sitting next to her.
No, not Maia. An older woman who looked just like Maia, right down to the birthmark under her ear.
How long have I been unconscious?
“You are a very lucky young lady,” older Maia said. “If you hadn’t pushed the prince and fallen in the exact way you did, every bone from your shoulder blades to your shins would have shattered.” Maia twisted a strand of her gray hair that had fallen in her face. “That would be much more difficult to fix.”
Vivilyn opened her mouth to say something, anything. Maia smiled and lifted a glass to Vivilyn’s lips. She drank a warm liquid greedily. Vivilyn was so thirsty. Had she drank anything in the however long she’d been asleep?
“Now, you are going to feel like you’re dying for quite a while. This process will be painful, but we’ll keep you asleep throughout it all, except for the beginning. You have to be awake while the bones begin resetting.” Maia placed one hand on Vivilyn’s wrist and the other on her sternum. Vivilyn noticed Maia’s knuckles were stiff and wrinkled with age. “Are you ready?”
Vivilyn tried to say yes, tried to nod, but again no noise came out of her mouth.
Maia closed her eyes. Light started moving from her ears down her arms, down to Vivilyn’s skin.
That’s not normal. Vivilyn couldn’t determine why her friend was glowing. It seemed more important than why Maia had aged.
The first sensation Vivilyn felt since the door fell was the warmth radiating from Maia’s hands.
At first it was comforting, like a hug from Suzetta or Magnar whenever she was afraid. Then it turned to a sharp tingle as though Duncan was pinching her.
It grew sharper and hotter. It felt as though flames seared across Vivilyn’s entire body. It centered on her back as though someone held a hot iron all the way down her spine.
“Mama,” she cried, hoping perhaps to conjure her mother from the darkness edging in on her vision again. “Papa,” she said as she tried to clutch the sheets under her.
Even though she couldn’t feel it, as the stabbing heat grew hotter, blood had to be pooling below her.
Maia, she tried to say, stop. But no more words escaped her as the darkness filled her mind again.
Her body shifted sporadically between burning and freezing. Every so often she would wake up to someone sitting in the chair next to her.
Most of the time it was Darissa or Fiona. Once Malcolm stood vigil at the window. Twice, she thought Prince Aiden sat beside her on the bed humming “Glory Etilidus Glory,” and once a woman shushed a baby. With the same copper hair as Prince Aiden.
She didn’t know how many times she awoke. She couldn’t tell how many days went by. She could only tell that she was in pain. An everlasting, all-encompassing pain.
Every time she pushed through the darkness, pain was all she could think about. Pain and the heat and the cold.
She came to dread coming above the surface of the numb darkness.
Until one day, she woke up. Really woke up.
There was no pain. She was no longer hot or cold. Her mouth was drier than she imagined the Mantle desert to be.
Light filtered through a crack in the closed shades of the windows. A familiar scent wafted towards her from the side table. Vivilyn turned her head to see a small potted jasmine plant.
“My brother planted that himself,” Prince Ethan’s voice cracked with disuse.
How long has he been in here?
“We had it on good authority that you’d awaken either today or tomorrow.” Vivilyn carefully moved her head to face the younger prince.
“How…” Her head felt like it would explode as she tried to shift into a sitting position.
�
�You’ve been unconscious for four days,” Ethan said as he came to her side and helped her move. Her feet seemed heavier than they had been. Her hands were unwieldy. “You’re lucky the wall only skimmed your back.”
Ethan looked at Vivilyn and took a deep breath.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
Why does everyone keep asking me that?
“You saw the ceiling begin to break. You could have run away, but you spent the extra seconds you had to push my brother out of the way.” He shook his head. The way his hair glinted in the limited light reminded Vivilyn of zinnias. “Why?”
Vivilyn stretched her mouth and ran her tongue along each of her teeth before she tried to speak.
“He’s my prince,” she said. Her throat burned as each word came out. “Eventually, he’ll be my king.”
“That’s all?” He asked.
“If there is another reason,” Vivilyn said, “it’s mine to know.”
“Cameras show you looking up before the stone started falling,” Ethan said, his eyes narrowed. “What made you look? Everyone’s ears in that room were buzzing from what I could gather.”
He knows.
“I thought I heard a crack,” she said, looking down at the blankets. “I was jumpy and looked. If there is anything else, then I can’t say. Things are a bit fuzzy.” She didn’t completely lie. Everything still had a hazy feel to it.
The prince nodded as though he accepted her explanation and handed Vivilyn a glass of something warm. As the scent of honeyed chamomile filled the air in front of Vivilyn, Prince Ethan walked over to the door and let his fingers lightly touch the handle. Vivilyn waited, silently sipping the sweetened tea as Prince Ethan thought through whatever he was considering. When he nodded to himself, he turned back to Vivilyn.
“I made a bet with my uncle about who would speak with my brother first. I won.” Ethan looked back at Vivilyn. “I get first choice for groups. You’re my choice.”
“But why?” Vivilyn asked as she locked eyes with the younger prince. “You don’t trust me.”
Prince Ethan lowered his eyes before he spoke, his hand still on the handle. “It’s my job to guard my brother, to keep him from danger.” He shook his head. “It is what I was born to do. But I couldn’t.” He looked back at Vivilyn. “You did.”